Computational Fluid Dynamics Study of Aircraft Wing with Winglet Performance at High Subsonic Speeds

Abstract

Most commercial aircraft use winglets, which are structures that reduce drag generated by tip vortices and improve fuel efficiency. At high speeds, the tip vortices will be stronger, which increases induced drag. So, analysis of the aerodynamic performance of the winglet is essential. For that, a wing with a winglet using the NACA 2213 airfoil has been designed in the SolidWorks software, and its CFD study had performed at high subsonic speeds in the Ansys software. The simulation has performed at four different angles of attack and two different subsonic speeds (0.7 and 0.8 Mach). The obtained results, including the lift-to-drag ratio and coefficient of lift and drag, have been compared to NASA wind tunnel experiment data. A CFD analysis of a wing without a winglet was carried out to determine the benefits of winglets over them. In comparison to a wing without winglets, a wing with winglets produces less drag. Winglets also increase the lift-to-drag ratio of the wing at high subsonic speeds.